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Kicker KMC1 upgrade

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Phil Purcell

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Hi All, searched the forum and didn't see the answer to this question so hopefully not too repetitive.

I've got the stock Kicker KMC1 with 6 speakers on my boat and I'm looking to do some upgrades starting with adding an amplifier to the existing head unit. The manual seems to indicate that the head unit supports four speakers (2 front, 2 rear), but the boat has 6 and I'm trying to figure out what amplifier configuration I need to buy. Can I get away with a 5 channel 2+2 and a sub? Or would I need a second 2 channel amp to drive the 3rd pair of speakers?
 
Right - I have spent some time trying to figure this same issue out.

My research to date: (no idea if right, need to call Kicker or a Retail Provider and get advice direct).

I understand that while the head unit is only designed for 4 speakers, this really means the Balance and Fade features only work for 4 speakers. You can add 2 speakers to once channel, but the power is then split. I have also heard that the boats are not always wired the same - on some the balance fades the front and back and bypassed the fader, on others the balance works on all six speakers, and you use the fade for the front/back balance (which I think is correct). Personally, I find the rear swing back speakers to be plenty loud, and no reason to every adjust the balance with those. However, sometimes the speaker right next the captain chair can be loud, so the balance can come in handy. I assume the 2 rear facing speakers was given 1 channel from the head unit and the 4 in the boat share a channel, which is why they are not loud enough.

I want to minimize the power draw, as we often float all day. I have read that really no one has had an issue with even some sizable amps on their boat having a start issue at the end of the day. I also have a 2 battery system, only use a single battery when floating (at least when I remember to switch from 2 if I had been on a longer run and wanted to charge both).

So, in my case a 2 channel amplifier might work, and just hook those up the 4 interior speakers. Otherwise, I need a 4 channel amp so the rear speakers can also be provided additional power while also keeping the integrity of both the Balance and Fade working. I have read some issues with this, again with the balance and fade not having an equal adjustment (since the rear speakers are not on the amp).

Thus, my current working theory is that really I need a 4 channel system. Kicker offers a Marine grade KSMA500.4 for $470 that ads 125 watts/channel x4 with 2OHM Stereo. That drops to 75 with 4OHM stereo - not sure yet what that means, and Dynamic power of 700 watts (I assume this is maximum draw). They offer a more powerful 4 channel and then also an 8 channel system.

Now, most (here and the Facebook Bennington sites) suggest moving to the JBL system as the first start, even if just the amp. Apparently the controls are generally cross compatible.

My next step is to find the right supplier / installer and get these assumptions verified, along with a bit more research. I found it unusual that there was no clear and concise summary / shopping guide that was not overly technical - I just want my system a bit louder...LOL. And, I need to figure out how my system is currently wired. The only other advice I got was to definitely get a Marine Grade system - bounces, dampness - they can apparently make short life of most amps (though again some have suggested their non-marine grade has worked fine).

Honestly, I have been having so much fun with my boat, 2 years later and I have not even setup the SIMRAD!!! Please share whatever you conclude, install and the resulting performance increase!!!!!!!!
 
So i just went through the same situation you are in now. I ended up changing all 6 speakers because the factory ones are junk. Went with a 5 ch amp. wired the 4 speakers in the boat to the amp along with a 8" kicker sub. Wired the 2 exterior speakers to the head unit. The way bennington wired 6 speakers to a 4 ch head unit was kinda hack but at least they ran all the wires back to the headunit. So its just a matter of figuring out what pair of wires goes to each speaker. Pretty easy with a 9v battery
 
Seadoorxpguy said:
So i just went through the same situation you are in now. I ended up changing all 6 speakers because the factory ones are junk. Went with a 5 ch amp. wired the 4 speakers in the boat to the amp along with a 8" kicker sub. Wired the 2 exterior speakers to the head unit. The way bennington wired 6 speakers to a 4 ch head unit was kinda hack but at least they ran all the wires back to the headunit. So its just a matter of figuring out what pair of wires goes to each speaker. Pretty easy with a 9v battery
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thanks for the reply, follow up question(s) on how you wired yours.

1. Were your speakers connected to the head unit using RCA connectors so you could take those directly into the power amp or did you have to install your own?
2. Assume you put speakers 1+2 on AMP1, speakers 3+4 on AMP2. Did you connect speakers 5+6 to the rear outputs? If so, when you use the fader doesn't that change the level for the AMP2 output at the same time?
 
someone near me is selling two 4 channel amps. Wondering if that might not be the best solution. I'd think that it would be setup as follows:

1. Set amp1 for 2 channel input. Connect Front speaker outputs from the head unit. Connect speakers 1+2, 3+4 to that amp1 outputs.
2. Set amp2 for 2 channel input. Connect Rear speaker outputs from the head unit. Connect speakers 5+6 and the sub (bridged) to amp2 outputs. Configure channel 2 output xover to pass low freqs.
 
So you will need to figure out what ohm the speakers you have are, then figure out what those amps put out for power and what ohm they can run at safely. Then figure out how to wire them so you don't overload the amps or the speakers. There's a few different ways to wire speakers to change the resistance. What do you have for a boat? What is the layout of you're speakers?
 
the amps are 2 or 4 ohm. I think with the configuration I described the speakers will not be in series or in parallel so the ohm rating will not drop or be multiplied. It seems to me, that I'd be ok with either 2 ohm or 4 ohm speakers (I do not know what Bennington installed for stock speakers).

I just watched this video to try and identify the speaker locations (boat is a 2016 GBR 2250), but I only see 4 in the video (2 up front, 1 at the helm and 1 on the bench next to the helm). I'm pretty sure my boat has 2 more, but it's in storage so I can't go check it.)
 
So when you bridge a amp things change. Depending on how you wire speakers resistance changes. Without knowing for sure what you have and if you plan on keeping those speakers you shouldn't just buy some random amps. Id get a multimeter out and check the resistance of what you have or pull a speaker out and look.. My boat was a 2021 and the factory kicker speakers were complete junk no matter what i tried. I tossed them and replaced them with rockford fosgates. Four of my speakers are in the boat and two are at the stern. So like I stated earlier i ran the 4 inside the boat to a 5 ch amp and added a sub then rewired the 2 external speakers straight to the head unit. My boat sounds as good if not better than the Roswell setup. The easiest way to do it if you dont plan on adding a sub is just buy a 6 ch amp. I dont mind my 2 external speakers being on the head unit with a little less power. I wanted the music in the boat.
 
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reviews on those two 4 channel amps aren't good so those are out. Back to looking at the 5 channel Kicker amp. Which I would end up wiring the way you did. DId you only connect the front channel to the amp and set it for 2channel mode instead of 4 channel? That would allow the head unit fader control to only affect the rear channel and not any of the speakers on the amp.
 
So with the head unit i have I was able to use two sets of rcas to the amp. My 5 ch had a switch for internal signal for the sub. So i put it to 4 ch mode. But im going to switch that back to 2 channel mode and use the rca for the sub signal to getter sound quality from the sub in the spring
 
Seadoorxpguy said:
So with the head unit i have I was able to use two sets of rcas to the amp. My 5 ch had a switch for internal signal for the sub. So i put it to 4 ch mode. But im going to switch that back to 2 channel mode and use the rca for the sub signal to getter sound quality from the sub in the spring
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do you recall the mfg/model number of the amp you are using?
 
Seadoorxpguy said:
www.crutchfield.com

Polk Audio PA D5000.5

5-channel car amplifier 70 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 500 watts RMS x 1 at 1 ohm
www.crutchfield.com www.crutchfield.com
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I think I had an ah-ha moment. I didn't realize that KMC1 has both pre-amp outputs and speaker outputs. So, I think I can connect both front and rear pre-amp outputs to the 5-channel amp and use that to power 4 of the 6.5" speakers and the subwoofer. The last two speakers can stay on the head unit on either the front or rear channel. The main issue here is that they will get a lot less power and subsequently be less loud than the speakers connected to the power amplifier, right?

Another option would be to wire all 6 speakers to just the front channel in a parallel/serial wiring configuration and then put the sub on the rear channel. A bit more involved to do the speaker wiring, but would overcome the volume difference in the previous example.
 
Depends on what speakers you have and what they can handle for power will dictate how loud you can go. As far as option 2. I don't think that will work. The resistance would be so high the amp would barley put out any power or it would drop the resistance so low the amp would go into safe mode
 
Seadoorxpguy said:
Depends on what speakers you have and what they can handle for power will dictate how loud you can go. As far as option 2. I don't think that will work. The resistance would be so high the amp would barley put out any power or it would drop the resistance so low the amp would go into safe mode
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the combination of parallel and series cancels out the increased impedance.

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I sent a note to Kicker asking for their recommendation; this is what they sent me. I just need to confirm that the speakers are 4 ohm and not 2 ohm.

I would run 2 speakers in parallel on channels 1 and 2, run single speakers on channels 3 and 4 then sub to sub. This would result in the amplifier seeing 2 ohms on channels 1 and 2 and 4 ohms on 3 and 4. This would basically distribute the power for the 4-channel amp section evenly. To use the fader through the headunit, you will need to make sure you have front rca’s or speaker outputs into amp 1 signal inputs and then the rear rca’s or speaker outputs into amp 2 with the fader switch on the amp pressed in. This will tell the amplifier you plan to use the headunit for fade control. Make sure the sub input is selected for amp 2 and you can use the CXARCT to remotely adjust the subwoofer channel output. Have a great day.

Anthony Alfonso
Technical Support Specialist
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Has anyone confirmed that with the 6-speaker set up, the wiring is series/parallel? I notice same thing a lot of people have mentioned.... 8 wires to the head unit but powering 6 speakers. I measured the two front speakers, and they are 4 ohms each. I also have a drawing but it's not helpful. If its as simple as purchasing a 4-channel amp and adding some RCA wires from the head unit to the amp, then landing the 8 wires on the amp. I can handle that.
 
4 ch amp is not ideal for 6 speakers. You would still need to run a wire to the battery for amp power.
 
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